


Of Love And Lightsabers

by perfect_plan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Star Wars References, Stripper Bucky, mentions of other marvel characters - Freeform, nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:29:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfect_plan/pseuds/perfect_plan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve isn't particularly happy that his friends have hired him a stripper for his birthday, until said stripper turns out to be dressed as a Jedi...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Love And Lightsabers

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry - I'm a nerd. A total nerd. And I want Steve and Bucky to be nerds too.

Steve wasn't going to admit to Sharon that he was glad that she had talked him into throwing the party for his birthday, because then she would never leave him alone and say "I told you so" any chance she got. He had taken a lot of convincing; he wasn't the party going _or_ giving type at all, more comfortable with having four or five people over for movies, videogames and pizza. He tended to get overlooked and forgotten at parties and always ended up alone in a corner somewhere watching everyone else have a good time. He wasn't antisocial by any means and certainly not as shy as he had been when he was younger, when he could barely even look someone in the eyes let alone talk to them; he was just easy to miss and more often than not just slipped through the cracks.

"Steve, come on," Sharon had said, throwing an arm across his skinny shoulders. "You're going to be 27 and as much as I like playing Mario Kart _every year_ on your birthday, I think it's time for a change."

Sharon had taken it upon herself to get Steve more involved and _proactive_ with his social life (he hated that fucking word) and to her credit, it had worked. He had gained more confidence in the last three years than...well, _ever_. He had a great circle of friends and he was now less likely to make some excuse not to go out with them if they asked. His love-life was another matter entirely and he could almost feel Sharon's willingness to impose herself upon that starting to build up. Maybe he would let her; he'd been single for a few years now and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't getting a _little_ lonely.

Natasha once asked Steve why he wasn't insulted that Sharon had made him her Personal Project (he could always hear when Natasha used capital letters). He and Sharon had been friends since they were fourteen and he knows that she's just fed up of him never getting what everyone else seems to acquire so easily and is pushing him to seek it out and, to be fair, it's actually working. So he keeps letting her and if it means being her Personal Project, then so be it. Natasha had frowned and shaken her head.

***

So she had worn him down over the last couple of months and now here he was in his apartment, full of people who looked like they were having a good time and so was he. It helped that he knew nearly everyone here: Natasha and Sharon were standing near the front door talking animatedly to each other, drinking what looked like Bloody Marys (gross); Pepper was keeping an eye on Tony because he could be a dick if he drank too much but he looked like he was running more on his endless supply of enthusiastic babble than alcohol tonight. Clint was shadowing Wade, the other troublemaker - more the let's throw-the-TV-out-of-the-window-for-fun type than the trashed-on-beer type. Jane had bought some huge Norwegian guy with her that Steve didn't know but seemed pleasant enough and Maria and Darcy were still going strong, dancing in the middle of the room and had managed to rope Phil into dancing with them. Even Logan looked like he was having a good time (Steve was surprised he'd turned up at all) and he tipped his beer bottle in acknowledgment at Steve when he looked over and gave him a smile. Rhodey was talking to Bruce and Sam, the three of them laughing loudly at some story and even Brock was kind of pleasant to be around tonight, clinging onto his new girlfriend Erica. Peter had brought two of his friends with him, a blond and a redhead, and there seemed to be some kind of uncomfortable _thing_ going on between the three of them and everyone could tell and was staying away and giving them space.

Steve was getting a pleasant buzz from his beer and was _considering_ dancing when Wade bounced over and crushed him in a hug.

"Happy Birthday dude, this party is awesome! Thanks for inviting me - I know you don't like me very much."

Steve gave him a confused frown. "I like you, Wade. It's Brock who doesn't like you."

Wade snorted and slapped Steve on the back, winding him slightly. "Oh yeah! I always get you two confused."

Steve had no idea how; he was short, blond and skinny and Brock was tall, dark and built like a tank. But Wade was a little weird at the best of times and Steve just smiled at him.

Clint wandered over and gave Wade a punch on the arm. "Staying out of trouble?"

Wade rolled his eyes. "I don't need a babysitter."

Clint frowned. "Yes, you do. You're way too impulsive and I don't trust you. You're the one person here who isn't drinking and that's scarier than _ten_ drunk people."

"I can't help it if I'm naturally charismatic and don't need alcohol to have a good time."

Clint just shook his head. "You enjoying yourself?" he asked Steve.

Steve gave him a grin and nodded. "I actually am. No-one has broken anything yet so I'm happy."

"The night is young," Wade said with a smirk and held his hands up when Clint glared. "Kidding! I'm kidding." He walked off over towards Logan and Clint let out an exasperated breath.

"Man, that guy is hard work."

"He's okay. I think he just tries too hard to get people to like him." Steve watched as Wade penned Logan into the corner, waving his arms about and talking a mile a minute. It didn't take long before Logan was starting to look pissed.

"Shit, I'd better go and step in before Logan punches him." Clint looked at his watch and glanced over at Sharon, who nodded and then turned back to Natasha, leaning in and whispering something. Steve was about to ask Clint what those looks were all about but he had already hurried over to the corner of the room to steer Wade away from Logan, who immediately headed off to the bathroom as soon as he was free.

Steve wandered around and talked to people, making an effort seeing as how it was his party, and was pleased to note that everyone really was having a good time. The music seemed to be going down well (Steve wasn't going to tell anyone just how long he'd spent putting the play list together) and more people were starting to dance.

"Hey Stevie!" Phil looked like he was already pretty far gone and draped an arm across Steve's shoulders. "Happy Birthday! This is a great party, really really great."

"Thanks Phil," Steve said. "You look like you're having a blast."

Phil nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I am." He leaned in close and whispered, "I think Maria likes me. I might ask her out."

Steve grinned. "Go for it."

Phil suddenly looked worried. "Should I?"

"What have you got to lose?" Steve said, wondering why he never took his own advise and just went for it with someone _he_ was attracted to.

"You know what, I _will_. Thanks Steve." He headed with determination over to Steve's bookcase where Maria was now huddled with Darcy and Jane, looking up as Phil walked towards them with a little smile on her face. Steve silently wished him luck; it would be nice if someone got lucky tonight because he certainly wasn't going to.

Sam came over to Steve and watched as Phil lost his nerve at the last minute and just stood listening to Maria and the others talk. "Finally making his move, huh?"

"Hopefully. I think _she's_ been waiting for him to make a move for a while now."

Sam laughed and took a swig of his beer. "Hey, this is a pretty cool place you got here."

"Thanks. It's not much but I like it." Steve had only known Sam for a couple of months - he was a friend of Clint and Natasha's - but he already got on really well with him; they had met for a few beers together and he could tell that Natasha was pleased she had introduced them.

Sam looked around at Steve's framed film posters, mostly 70s and 80s horror and sci-fi films - Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, The Fly, Scanners, The Thing - and his shelves of DVDs, books and a few choice toys and models. "You're really into all this nerdy stuff. I mean, not to say that's a _bad_ thing..."

Steve chuckled. "No, it's okay. I guess I am a nerd."

"You like Star Wars?" Sam was looking at the big bookcase that housed a _lot_ of Star Wars stuff.

"It kind of meant a lot to me as a kid and I never really outgrew it. Natasha and Clint think I'm obsessed but they're just as bad with Battlestar Galactica."

Sam gave him a sly little smile then. "Hmm. You get many Star Wars related gifts for your birthday?"  

Steve was starting to get suspicious. "A couple. Why?"

Sam shook his head. "No reason," but he smiled as he took another slug of his beer. "I'm gonna go talk to Pete, see if I can't diffuse some of that gnarly sexual tension between him and his lady friends."

Steve was making his way over to the kitchen to see how the booze was holding up when there was a knock at the front door. He wasn't sure who else was due to turn up and started to head over to answer it but Sharon lunged for the door as though she was expecting someone and Natasha looked over at Clint and waved frantically to him. Sharon opened it and squealed happily. There was a guy Steve didn't know dressed as a Jedi at the door, lightsaber in his hand and everything and Steve confusedly wondered why someone would turn up to a party in fancy dress when no-one else was.

He was about to walk over and speak to Sharon when Clint's hands were on his shoulders, pushing him down onto a chair that had somehow appeared behind him, whisking his beer out of his hand and everyone in the room suddenly seemed to know what was going on except for him, a circle forming around where he was sitting. There were excited murmurs. Steve was aware of the music stopping and the Jedi came into the apartment with a grin, the hood of his brown robe obscuring his eyes but not the lower half of his face. Sharon leaned in and said something to him and he looked over at Steve and _that's_ when it hit him.

A stripper. His friends had hired a stripper. A very _hot_ stripper dressed as a Jedi.

His face dropped in terror and mortification and he was trying his hardest to speak but he just sat frozen in the chair, unable to move as everyone watched in anticipation. He _knew_ it had been a bad idea to tell Sharon about his sexy Jedi fantasy when he had had one too many beers at her place a few weeks back; more fool him for thinking he could trust her to keep it a secret. This was one of those situations that Steve had nightmares about, along with all of his teeth falling out and missing the school bus over and over again. If he didn't spontaneously combust from embarrassment in the next two minutes he would have to make a note to himself to _kill_ his friends, _with pain_ , when this was all over. He made a small whining noise.

The Jedi pointed at Steve and said, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope," and everyone started to whoop and clap.

Music started to blare - Poison Lips by Vitalic - and Steve, geeky to the last even through his horror, wondered why they hadn't just used any of the Star Wars music; he had all of the soundtracks, even the ones to the prequels which he hated. The thought quickly vanished as the Jedi started to dance slowly over to him, hips swaying, biting his bottom lip and smiling.

Steve could only stare at the guy; he was taller than him but not too tall and he looked lean under his outfit. Steve watched as he pulled his hood down, still moving to the music and shrugged the robe off effortlessly. There were more whoops from everyone and Steve could see Sharon and Natasha holding a fistful of dollar bills each and jumping about excitedly. Steve was more embarrassed by that than the fact that a complete stranger might be about to grind against him.

He forgot his embarrassment for a few seconds though when he actually saw the guy's face; he was _gorgeous_ \- huge blue eyes and a jaw line that Steve immediately wanted to run his tongue along. His dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, was coming loose as he moved and a few strands fell into his face. He came close, eyes never leaving Steve's.

"Hey there, Birthday Boy."

Steve managed to gurgle out, "Hi," before his throat closed up.

Hot Jedi hooked his lightsaber - it was one of the good ones, the expensive kind Steve noticed, he had three of them himself - around the back of Steve's chair so he was _right_ in Steve's personal space, moving effortlessly to the music, so close that Steve could feel the warmth radiating from his body. He wasn't touching him but Steve went rigid and could feel his palms start to sweat. Everyone was shouting and dancing along.

Hot Jedi gave Steve his lightsaber with a wink and moved away, still dancing - he was a _really_ good dancer - and started to slowly unbuckle his utility belt and Steve could feel himself growing redder and redder wanting to look anywhere else but unable to take his eyes off of the guy. He dropped his belt to the floor and slowly took off his tunic to the music and then threw it at Sharon and Natasha who were shrieking and having _way_ too much fun. Steve swallowed when he saw the guy's upper body. _Holy crap, he was ripped_. Wade and Bruce started to wolf-whistle and Hot Jedi laughed, loud and genuine, still dancing. He finally turned his attention back to Steve and started to dance slowly over to him again, a sexy smile on his face, eyes fixed on Steve's.

He took the lightsaber back from Steve who immediately sat on his hands to keep them from shaking. He had no idea what to do with himself.

Hot Jedi threw a leg over Steve's chair and gripped the back of it, leaning in close, still not touching but he started to slowly roll his hips. Steve heard Darcy say "Oh my," and then everything else around him was just white noise and all he could focus on was the guy's face.

He brought his mouth to Steve's ear. "You don't look like you're having a very good time," he said and when he pulled away to look at Steve, his eyes were full of concern. He still had that sexy little smile on his face but the music was loud enough that no-one except Steve would hear him. He smelled amazing, like raspberries, and Steve fought hard to concentrate on what he was saying.

Steve shook his head. "Oh...I...it's not you. I'm just...shy..." What a _dumb_ thing to say to a stripper. He couldn't tear himself away from those eyes.

Hot Jedi came close again. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I won't go any further; my pants and boots are staying on."

"Oh no, don't change things on my account...I wouldn't want to screw up your...your routine...you're getting paid to..." Steve fumbled but he was secretly relieved; as much as he'd gained confidence in recent years, this was a bit too much for him.

Hot Jedi just smiled wider. "Don't worry - I've got a few tricks up my sleeve..." He moved away from Steve and the music ended. Everyone clapped and cheered as the stripper moved into the middle of the room with his lightsaber, switched it on and waited for the next track. Sharon threw a pleased look over to Steve who shot her back a dirty glare. _I will kill you for this_. She just laughed.

Blizzard by Kavinsky started to play and Hot Jedi quirked an eyebrow. Steve was suddenly worried about how lame his music was but the thought was cut short as the guy started to move with his lightsaber. Half of the jaws in the room dropped - it was _amazing_ ; he _must_ be into martial arts or something because he was twirling and manoeuvring it from hand to hand with an expertise that could only come with some kind of training and the kind of lightsaber he had was pretty heavy. Steve had tried a few moves himself with his and had only succeeded in smashing a lamp. He could just about hear the noise of the lightsaber over the music.

Hot Jedi obviously knew the effect he was having on the room because he just grinned and moved, his body all muscle and raw energy. Everyone was clapping in time to the music and making impressed noises.

Steve, meanwhile, was slowly turning into a hot mess - this was by far the sexiest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. He was forcing his body not to pop a boner from sheer willpower alone.

"Wait wait wait!" Wade called out and ran over to Steve's Star Wars bookshelf and picked up his Darth Maul lightsaber, hurtling back to the centre of the room and handing it to Hot Jedi, narrowly missing clubbing several people in the face with it. Everyone cheered and someone shouted "Do it!" Hot Jedi laughed again and handed his own lightsaber to Wade.

"Okay, okay - I haven't tried with one of these. Give me a sec." He kind of weighed it up then started to twirl it, making it look effortless. He glanced at Steve and gave him a knowing smile. _See? Now everyone's distracted and you don't have to worry._ Steve didn't care. This was doing far more for him than having the guy grind up against him. Well, that _was_ kind of cool but maybe not in front of so many people...

Wade ran back to Steve's shelf and came back with one of his normal lightsabers, taking the Darth Maul one back from Hot Jedi and handing him Steve's and his own back.

"One in each hand!" Wade said and everyone started to cajole and clap again.

Hot Jedi threw his head back and laughed. "Oh man, you guys are killing me." He switched on Steve's lightsaber and got to grips with them both, twirling one at a time. "Okay, here goes," he said and started to move again, both lightsabers becoming a blur of color, looking directly at Steve with that smile.

It was incredible and Steve was totally gone. Someone turned out the lights and all they could see was the neon glow from both of the lightsabers making strange trails in the room. Steve could just about see the guy lit by the green and red light.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen," Clint said to no-one in particular. Steve just thought it was the _hottest_ thing he'd ever seen.

The track ended and everyone started to shout and cheer and the lights came back on. Hot Jedi was slightly out of breath but handed Steve's lightsaber back to Wade with a smile and took a bow.

He turned to Steve and gave him another smile. "Happy Birthday," he said and Steve finally smiled back.

***

Steve ran off to the bathroom the minute everyone crowded around the Jedi, asking him questions and, in Peter and Clint's case, begging him to show them some lightsaber moves. Steve didn't want everyone to think he'd run away to jerk off or anything so he left the bathroom door open and splashed his face with cold water, letting himself calm down.

Fuck me, he thought to himself.

When he went back to the living room about ten minutes later after he'd gathered himself, Sam, Natasha and Sharon came over, laughing and nudging him. A few other people cheered when they saw him.

"I hate you all so much right now," Steve hissed.

"Oh, you loved it," Sharon said. "Admit it. That was pretty great."

Steve shook his head. "You can all go fuck yourselves..." but there wasn't much heat in his voice.

Sam laughed. "Dude, you have no idea how _hard_ it was not to say anything and ruin the surprise."

"Where did you even find that guy?" Steve asked.

Sharon smirked. "My friend Daisy at NYU. He's a student there and does this on the side."

"You should go and speak to him," Natasha said with a nod towards the kitchen. "He's really nice."

Steve tensed slightly and looked over. "He's still here?" The Jedi was talking to Darcy and Phil. Someone had even given him some birthday cake.

"Go and say hi," Sharon said and gave him an enthusiastic grin.

"Sharon, I can't just go up and...and...it's weird. He'll think I'm weird." Steve shook his head.

"Oh Steve, go and say hello for fuck's sake," Natasha barked. "He's just a guy."

Steve knew he was going to lose this battle but he tried to fight anyway. "It's my party and I can do what I wa - "

Sharon gave him a hard shove and he staggered towards the kitchen. The guy looked up and smiled when he saw Steve so there was no backing out now. Steve walked over, trying not to look as nervous as he felt and held up his hand. The guy was wearing all of his Jedi outfit again and his hair was down.

"Hey there, Birthday Boy," he said and held up his plate. "Your friends wouldn't let me go until I'd eaten cake."

Steve gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I hope they weren't too pushy."

"It's actually kind of nice; usually I'm straight out the door when I'm done. No-one's ever offered me cake before. And this is _really_ good cake."

Steve grinned. "Yeah, Natasha doesn't bake much but when she does it's always worth it."

The guy held out his hand. "I'm Bucky."

Steve shook and was suddenly fifty kinds of nervous again. "I'm Steve."

"I really like your apartment. That Tauntaun is awesome." Bucky pointed at the toy over on Steve's Star Wars bookcase.

"Oh," Steve gave a squeaky laugh. "I've had that since I was a kid."

Bucky raised his eyebrows. "No shit! All of my Star Wars toys got bashed to crap. I had to buy a ton of the re-issues when they came out but it's not the same."

"I inherited a bunch from my older cousin and I was kind of anal about taking care of them," Steve groaned inwardly. Why am I telling him this? he thought with a grimace.

But Bucky just laughed. "Well, it makes me wish I'd taken better care of mine. I'd give anything to have my old Millennium Falcon back." He tucked his hair behind one ear.

Steve cleared his throat. "That was...uh, you were amazing. With the lightsabers."

He was pretty sure Bucky blushed, which he found slightly odd (and all kinds of cute) considering he would have stripped down to god-knows-what had he not stopped when he did. "Thanks. This is only the second time I've tried it out so I'm glad everyone seemed to like it." 

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Steve was finally starting to relax; he'd pretty much decided that this guy was all kinds of incredible.

Bucky seemed to ponder his answer and then gave Steve a little grin, like he was about to tell him a secret. "I _should_ say that I know martial arts or something to sound cool, but the truth is I just practiced in front of the mirror. For a _long_ time."

"Wow, really? That's pretty awesome." Steve couldn't keep the admiration out of his voice and Bucky tried to shrug it off modestly. "Um, thanks for not...you know...for not..." he made a vague motion to Bucky's outfit. He couldn't quite bring himself to say _thanks for not taking all of your clothes off_.

"Oh, it was no problem. I've done enough of these that I know if someone's not completely at ease with the whole thing." He looked at Steve through his long hair with a little smirk. "You seemed to enjoy the lightsaber thing a lot more, anyway."

Steve was slightly taken aback. Was he _flirting_ with him?

There was a beeping sound and Steve pushed the thought aside - hot guys like this didn't flirt with him. Bucky muttered to himself, fishing his phone out of his utility belt. _He's actually using his utility belt_ , Steve thought and wondered how he could ask this guy to marry him without seeming crazy and weird.

"Shit, I have to go," Bucky said and put his empty plate in the kitchen. "Another job."

Steve deflated slightly; he kind of wanted Bucky to stay but he wasn't exactly here as a guest. He just nodded. "Oh, I hope your...uh...rate didn't suffer or anything because you didn't actually...take off...everything..." God, why did he sound so _awkward_?

"I tried to lower my rate actually, but your friend - the blond - wouldn't let me. She must have thought the show was worth it."

Steve tried not to sound too dreamy when he answered. "It was."

Bucky looked at him then with an amused little half smile. Steve didn't want to presume anything but he thought that Bucky maybe looked sorry that he was leaving too. "Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday. Bye, Steve." He headed to the front door, giving a wave to everyone as he left.

Sharon and Sam were at his side almost instantly.

"So? What did you talk about? You both looked pretty into it whatever it was." Sharon sounded excited.

Steve gave a wistful sigh. "He liked my Tauntaun."

Sam looked confused and frowned. "I don't even want to know what _that_ means."

***

The party finally wound down at 3:30am, Tony and Pepper being the last to leave.

"See you on Monday, Obi-Wan," Tony said with a snicker and Steve just smiled, ready to accept that he'd be teased about this for months to come. Pepper gave him an apologetic shrug as she left.

He groaned as he closed the front door and faced the mess that was his apartment. There wasn't too much collateral damage, mainly plastic cups and bottles all over the place and various snack foods scattered across the floor. He'd seen Wade throw an entire bowl of peanuts up in the air earlier to see how many he could catch in his mouth and had been too distracted by the whole Bucky thing to care.

Sharon came out of the kitchen with a garbage bag. "Well, let's get this over with..." She started to gather any disposable detritus. "I've put out a box for all of the bottles. You recycle, right?"

"You don't have to stay; I can get this in the morning." Steve found a zippo lighter next to his stereo. He guessed it must be Logan's.

"Hey, I helped to organise this shindig - it's only fair that I help to mop up the aftermath." She gave a loud yawn and threw half a piñata into the garbage bag.

They tidied up in silence for a little while, both still fuzzy from the drink and tired as hell. When the apartment looked somewhere headed towards reasonably clean, Sharon came up to Steve and grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Did you have a nice birthday?"

Steve grinned sleepily and hugged her back. "I did. Thank you for forcing me to do this."

Sharon laughed and pulled away. "I have many I Told You So's ready to go for the next month or two." She tidied the front of his hair. "So how about that stripper, huh? Pretty fucking hot."

Steve rubbed his eyes. "I still can't believe you did that. But...yes. He was very hot. And really nice too." He wasn't about to admit _just_ how nice he thought Bucky was.

Sharon started to put her jacket on and looked around for her purse. "Daisy said he's single..."

"Sharon - " he started.

"All I'm saying is that he's _single_ and he seemed to like you."

Steve sighed. "You paid him to strip for me. He wasn't exactly going to act _bored_ , was he?"

"I _meant_ when you were talking to him afterwards. He looked pretty interested to me, Sam and Natasha." She frowned as she pulled a banana and three tomatoes out of her bag. "What the hell..." and Steve smiled. Wade.

Steve walked with her to the door. "Want to meet up on Wednesday? Tony owes me a half day."

Sharon hugged him again. "Sounds good. And don't change the subject; he looked _interested_ , Steve."

"Bye, Sharon," he said and pushed her out into the hallway, shutting the front door on her.

"Interested!" She shouted through the closed door. 

***

It was close to 5am by the time Steve was finally ready to hit the sack, glad that tomorrow (today) was Sunday and he had all day to recover. He stumbled into the kitchen to get a glass of water and something caught his eye on the fridge. There was a bright pink post-it note with _Bucky_ and Bucky's phone number scrawled on it in Sharon's unmistakable handwriting.

***

Steve didn't call Bucky's number but thought about him constantly for the next three weeks. It would have been too weird to just phone him and say, "Hi, remember me? You did a half-naked lightsaber routine for me on my birthday. Wanna meet up?" No, that was just something that people didn't do. Especially with Bucky being a stripper and all; would he get offended and think that Steve was taking advantage of that fact or something? He didn't want to find out so he just made do with replaying the conversation he had with him after his routine, how easy-going and handsome Bucky was, often groaning longingly at the thought. Sharon bugged him about it every time he spoke to her following the party but he wouldn't budge, not calling Bucky but not taking his number off of the fridge either.

And if he thought about Bucky's lightsaber routine a lot and _maybe_ jerked off to the memory of it a couple of times, he wasn't going to admit it to anyone.

***

Steve finally had a few days off; he'd just finished a pretty intense project for Tony at work, staying late for two weeks and even working from home to meet the deadline. He didn't mind though; sometimes it was good to have such a frantic workload as it made the calm afterwards more enjoyable. Tony had insisted that Steve stay away from the office for a few days and even slipped a bonus _on top_ of the bonus he'd already be getting.

"Rogers, don't let it be said that I don't appreciate how hard you work for me. Now scoot - go dress up like Captain Kirk or whatever it is you do on your day off."

So Steve had slept in late - something he hardly ever let himself do - and wondered if he should make a start on Alien: Isolation or actually get out of his apartment. He'd had to sideline being social while he finished things up at work and hadn't had a chance to really do anything or go anywhere. He made his mind up and grabbed his messenger bag, threw on a hoodie and his sneakers and headed out.

He ended up in his favourite second-hand book store, rummaging through some back issues of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. He found four that he didn't have and headed for the fiction section at the back of the shop. He loved this place; it smelt old and musty and they always had a ton of interesting new stock. He turned a corner and was wondering if he'd be able to pick up any Harlan Ellison books when he stopped dead in his tracks.

 _Holy shit_.

Bucky was crouched down looking through some books on the bottom shelf of the section Steve had been heading to, the sci-fi section, hair down and tucked behind one ear, face scrunched up in concentration. He was wearing a shirt and jeans (Steve felt like an idiot for being so surprised; it wasn't like he'd walk around all day in a Jedi outfit). Steve kind of paced on the spot, unsure of whether to go and say hi or turn and run the other way; he'd been thinking about him for the last three weeks and now that he was here, right in front of him and he had no idea what to do. The choice was made for him however, when Bucky looked up, his face flickering with recognition.

"Hi," he said, standing up with a little smile.

Steve held up his books in a wave. "Hi. You uh, might not remember me..." he started.

Bucky gave a little laugh. "Of course I remember you. You're Steve. I was at your birthday party. Your friend gave me some cake."

"Yeah. You liked my Tauntaun."

Bucky laughed hard then, loud and uninhibited in the book store. "Yeah. Yeah I did." He looked at Steve, eyes shining. "It was a great Tauntaun."

Steve laughed with him, both of them leaving the whole _I was/you were a stripper at your/my birthday party_ hanging in the air.

"So, you like sci-fi?" Steve asked, indicating to the books Bucky was looking at.

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, I was just looking for some Harlan Ellison."

"You're kidding, so was I!" Steve didn't mean to sound as excited as he did but Bucky's smile widened.

"Have you read I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream?"

"That story gave me nightmares for a month. I mean, I _was_ thirteen when I first read it but still."

Bucky grinned. "Me too. I still torture myself by reading it every so often."

Steve stepped closer and noticed that Bucky was holding Cosmos by Carl Sagan. "Hey, good choice."

Bucky looked down at the book. "Oh, yeah, I've read it a million times but I lent my other copy to my ex and I don't think he's ever going to give it back."

Steve tried not to read too much into Bucky mentioning his ex but a shot of excitement ran through him nonetheless.

They stood in an odd silence for a minute or two and then Bucky said, "I don't want to sound too forward, but do you want to grab some lunch or something with me?"

***

As it turned out, Bucky was also a complete nerd like Steve, he just maintained it with a little more discretion. Steve couldn't help but laugh as they ate lunch in some bar around the corner from the bookstore.

"I just never would have thought you were into astronomy and sci-fi as much as you are." Steve smiled and picked up a nacho.

"What, the fact that I own a Jedi outfit - a very _expensive_ custom-made Jedi outfit, I might add - didn't tip you off just a little?" Bucky said as he bit into his taco.

"I just thought it was for your, uh, your work..."

Bucky glanced up at him. "It's okay, you can say it. There's no point dancing around the fact: My work as a stripper."

Steve nodded. "So, how did you get into doing that?"

Bucky reached over and took one of Steve's nachos. "Kind of by accident. I did this joke striptease for a friend's birthday; one of her friends who was there happened to work for an agency and gave me their details. I was totally not going to do it but then money got tight and I figured, why not? It fits around school, it's fun, I meet interesting people..." He gave Steve a little look and raised an eyebrow.

Steve pointedly looked down at his nachos. "What do you study?"

"Computer Science. It's pretty cool. Lot of job prospects when I graduate. I got into it late but it's working out okay. How about you?"

"I work for my friend, Tony. He set up this business when we graduated and he's like this insane Mark Zuckerberg-type guy with all these ideas and ventures that somehow end up working and making a ton of money. I just do all of his web design and any presentation work he needs. Make things look fancy for him." Steve wiped his hands on his napkin.

"And the rest of the time you're into Star Wars and Harlan Ellison." Bucky folded his arms and sat back in his chair with a grin that was most definitely a flirty grin.

Steve felt his face flush slightly. "I, uh, pretty much."

Bucky gave a little nod and continued to grin. "Cool."

***

 **STEVE:** Guess who I saw today?

 **SHARON** **:** How the hell am I supposed to know? Wade?

 **STEVE:** Wade doesn't have amazing abs and hot lightsaber moves

 **SHARON** **:** OMG!!!!! You called Bucky?!

 **STEVE:** No, I ran into him in a bookstore

 **SHARON** **:** WTF

 **STEVE:** We're going on a date on Friday

 **SHARON** **:** :D :D :D :D

***

They went to see Interstellar, which they both enjoyed and Steve listened with interest and amusement as Bucky ran through _everything_ that he thought was accurate and inaccurate about the movie as they sat together in a small coffee place afterwards. Watching Bucky talk about something he was really into was the best thing Steve had ever seen; he waved his hands about, his huge blue eyes were bright and full of life and he stumbled over his words in his hurry to get the next sentence out.

"What?" Bucky asked, when Steve started to laugh.

"You're getting very...passionate about the whole thing."

"Steve, I've been to the Kennedy Space Centre _twenty-four times_ , my personal hero is Chris Hadfield and I could sit here for another two hours and talk through my thoughts on Gravity. Fuck yeah, I'm passionate about whether they got it all right or not."

Steve was feeling bold and decided not to waste it. "It's pretty adorable."

Bucky blinked and then smiled, leaning across the table slightly. "I get _very_ cute when I talk about String Theory."

***

On their fourth date - an early dinner at Steve's before Bucky headed off to work - Bucky leaned on the kitchen counter and watched as Steve sliced peppers for the pasta thing he was making, forbidden from helping. Steve had never felt so at ease with anyone before (not that his past relationships had been much to talk about) and he was growing more excited about where he and Bucky were possibly headed.

"It doesn't bother you?" Bucky asked.

Steve didn't look up from his cutting. "Doesn't what bother me?"

"My job. That I take my clothes off for money."

Steve looked up at him, seeing the slight worry in Bucky's eyes. "Of course not. Did I say something to make you - "

"No, no," Bucky said and nervously ran a hand through his hair. "You didn't say anything. I just...I really like you and I don't want it to ever be a, y'know, an issue."

Steve stopped slicing the peppers and turned to Bucky with a reassuring smile. "It would never be an issue. I wouldn't have met you otherwise. Um, to be completely honest? You doing your lightsaber routine was the hottest thing I've ever seen."

Bucky stepped closer, relieved, a grin quirking his lips. "Really?"

Steve could feel himself start to blush but stood his ground. "Hands down."

They had their first kiss in Steve's kitchen and dinner was eventually forgotten. An hour later, Bucky untangled himself from Steve where they'd been on the couch and groaned.

"I have to go," he laughed as Steve gripped him tighter and made a face. "How about we meet for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Steve kissed Bucky softly, trying to drag it out as much as he could before he left. "Fine. But I'm going to be thinking about you every second between now and then."

Bucky smiled dopily. "You know, I thought you were cute from the first moment I saw you, sat on that chair at your birthday party looking all confused."

"I had no idea what to do with myself. Then you whipped out your lightsaber and I pretty much lost it."

Bucky started to laugh and couldn't stop.

***

"Hey, stop texting Bucky and pay attention to me. I'm in the middle of a story," Sharon tried to grab Steve's phone from him but he just turned away from her and hit send.

 **STEVE:** It's our six week anniversary today :)

"Sorry, I'm listening. What were you saying?" he said and Sharon groaned.

"God, I forgot just how _annoying_ you are when you're seeing someone..."

Steve's phone bleeped and he snatched it up. Bucky's response was a full-body selfie of him taken in a mirror wearing his Hot Cop outfit, a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

 **BUCKY:** Happy anniversary :P

Steve felt his blood rushing south and quickly put his phone away.

Clint snorted. "I still can't believe you got it on with that stripper." He grabbed a beer from the tray of drinks Natasha put down on the table.

"I didn't "get it on" with him. We're in a relationship," Steve said. "And it's his job, it doesn't effect anything and it isn't a big deal. You're the only one who keeps bringing it up."

"Ignore him," Natasha said to Steve. "He's easily amused."

"Has he dressed up as a Jedi for you yet?" Clint asked and started to laugh when Steve immediately went beet red. "Oh my god! Question answered."

"Shut up," Steve muttered.

Clint snickered. "Does he use the for - "

"Clint, I swear - if you finish that sentence I will punch you in the face."

***

Steve had been seeing Bucky for two months before they finally slept together, a marathon of the Star Wars movies left unfinished halfway through The Empire Strikes Back as they stumbled off of the couch and practically ran to Steve's bedroom.

Bucky lay panting and laughing afterwards, one arm over his eyes. "Holy crap, Steve," he chuckled breathlessly.

Steve kissed Bucky's collarbone and made his way up to his mouth. "So I take it that was all okay?"

Bucky laughed again and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Steve's hair. "You're a keeper. I'm keeping you. I don't care who your original owners were, they're not getting you back."

Steve giggled against Bucky's chest. "I need feeding three times a day and you have to remember to change my litter box at least once a week."

They stayed stretched out next to each other for a while, talking and kissing, the DVD still running in the living room.

"I think I'm going to quit my job and look for something else," Bucky said suddenly.

Steve propped himself up on one elbow and brushed Bucky's hair away from his face. "Hey, please don't quit if it's got anything to do with us. You know I - "

Bucky took Steve's hand and kissed it. "It's okay. I just think it's time. I want something that means I can spend more time with you in the evenings. It's been fun but...you're more important to me."

Steve nodded and couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face, leaning back in to kiss him again as Bucky ran a hand softly down Steve's back.

"You're going to keep the Jedi outfit though, right?" Steve murmured into Bucky's neck.

"Knowing the effect it has on you? I think so."

Steve licked a stripe up Bucky's throat. "And the cop outfit..."

Bucky laughed. "Oh my god, you horny little bastard." He cupped Steve's jaw in his hand and gently pulled him up to face him. "Hey..."

Steve met Bucky's eyes, wondering just how he got so damned lucky. "What?"

Bucky swallowed and took a breath. "I love you."

Steve's whole body flooded with warmth and he thought he'd never been happier than in this moment. He stroked Bucky's hair. "I know," he said.

Bucky's brow furrowed slightly and he narrowed his eyes. "Did you.. just quote The Empire Strikes Back at me?"

Steve tried to hold back his growing smile. "Maybe..."

Bucky groaned and swatted Steve's ass, making him yelp gleefully. "I can't believe you! You're such a _geek_ \- "

He was cut off by Steve's lips on his, warm and smiling and sweet.

Steve pulled away and grinned down at him. "I love you too."


End file.
